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Guys, you may need to brush up on a few things. A national magazine says there are quite a few things men are supposed to know.
Napoleon Dynamite was right: "Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills."
So Popular Mechanics has released its list of 100 Skills Every Man Should Know for 2008.
Popular Mechanics Executive Editor David Dunbar said, "As you might imagine, there was quite a spirited debate about what should go in and what should stay out and what was too easy and what was too hard."
Some items may seem obviously manly, like move heavy stuff, mix concrete, use a stick welder and grill with charcoal. Dunbar says that last one was his call, but Hank Hill might be upset.
"That's probably my bias. I feel like it's, what's the point if you're using gas?" he said.
Other skills might not seem so macho. These are things like change a diaper, carve a turkey and sew a button on a shirt.
Dunbar said, "An adult male should be able to sit down with a needle and thread and a button and a safety pin for the spacer and not have to send it out to a tailor or take it to the Laundromat."
I hit the streets to see just how many of these skills the guys of Salt Lake City know, and thereby judge how manly we are.
I asked one man if he knows how to iron a shirt, which is number 31 on the list. He said, "I iron every morning."
Another man went down the list, stating all the skills that he knew. "Solder wire: yes. Shovel the right way: yes. Tape drywall: yes, but I'll never do it again," he said.
But for the guys who don't know how to do all of the skills on the list, that doesn't mean that you're any less of a man.
Dunbar said, "Even if you don't know how to do all 100 skills, I would be surprised to find too many readers in our audience who know how to do all 100. We're all works in progress."
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
